Hellhound
by Concinnity
Summary: A mysterious agent for hire called ‘the Hellhound’ roams the streets of Domino City, stealing and killing for cash. What happens when this dangerous thief is caught on the prowl by Seto Kaiba? What if the Hellhound is a lot closer to him than he thinks?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Hellhound

Description: A mysterious agent for hire called 'the Hellhound' roams the streets of Domino City, stealing and killing for cash. What happens when this dangerous thief is caught on the prowl by Seto Kaiba? What if the Hellhound is a lot closer to him than he first thinks?

Rating: M

Pairing: Joey x Kaiba

Author's comments: Alright, so this is one of my first multi-chapter Yu-Gi-Oh fics. I actually have this one all planned out, so I just need to keep up with typing it and keeping it going. Much easier said than done, but I like this idea so much, I don't think it'll be hard to finish it. Hope you enjoy it!

This story should start out with some kind of happy imagery. After all, it's a dark story, and something bright might make it not so angsty or depressing. However, when you live on the bad side of the town, the story has to start out with hookers, druggies, and thugs pulling their guns on each other. Gunshots ring out into the night on this side of the town, and nobody cares anymore, because no matter how many times the police are called, nothing ever changes. Nothing ever will change.

That's how I felt when I heard the gunshot in the distance that evening, as the sun cast a blood-red stain to try and taint the innocent evening sky. However, I didn't look up from my ever-demanding 'homework'. Gunshots didn't scare me anymore. They hadn't for years. Sure, when I was ten, and only a few years older than that, when I first moved from my cozy home with my family in Brooklyn, New York to here, in Domino City, Japan, I would huddle under the covers and shake, hoping the bad men with guns wouldn't find me. I don't really care anymore. Guns are a natural part of my life.

I'm just thankful it's not the Hellhound out there. Who? You've never heard of the Hellhound? Well, that's a story in itself.

The Hellhound is an agent for hire, working in Domino City. He does anything from assassinations and hits to robberies. He's a con artist to boot and he's almost always got his hands in everything that shows up on the front page of the newspaper. No matter what the job is, the Hellhound sniffs it out. He's fast and silent, and can get anywhere in any amount of time. An escape artist, a conman, and probably a bit insane to agree to do everything he does. I'm sure the police would trade all their donut and coffee breaks for a year to get their hands on him.

Unfortunately for them, though, he's as elusive as a ghost. Word is, he lives in the bad neighborhood in town, where bad men roam the streets, and hookers scatter like roaches when they hear sirens or see blue and red lights. The greasy, grungy, nasty part of town, where nobody cares who you are, where you come from or what your story is, just so long as you've got something in your wallet for them to try and steal or sucker you out of. Don't know what he sees in the place, but apparently, that's where he hides when not killing, stealing, and making a name for himself. As stereotypical of a hideout as it is, it definitely works for him.

I, however, know a little more about the Hellhound than most people. I do know him personally, after all.

He's not very old. Probably late teens, early twenties. How else would he always know what was going on around town. He's a handsome guy, all in all, though he's a bit rough around the edges. Believe it or not, he's still in school, and lives a relatively ordinary life by day. As funny as it is to think of a super-criminal being a normal person, it's the truth.

He's a swell guy, with friends and a family. His family is a little strange. After all, his mother and sister, he hasn't seen in ages, and he isn't on very good terms with his father. Probably something to do with the guy being a complete asshole who doesn't give a flying fuck about him. I'm sure he misses his mom and sister, though. It's been, what, seven, eight years since he saw them last? He doesn't like to talk about his family to anyone, though. I guess it's just a really tender topic for him.

His friends however, that's a different story completely. His friends are the best people in the world. He's got a multitude of people who love him, and he loves them all just as dearly. His best friend's this short kid, who seems completely immersed in the wellbeing of those around him before himself. A good kid, I guess, but a little head-in-the-clouds, if you know what I mean. His other friends include the tough guy, the one girl who hangs out with them, the foreign boy, and a few others who wander in and out of their group.

He told me about this one kid in his class, once. A kid who apparently pisses him off to no end. This kid supposedly calls him nasty names, and looks at him like he's not worth anything. I understood what the Hellhound felt when he talked about him, and I could sense the hatred between them. After all, just because someone's a rich, uptight, cockblocked, cold asshole, pardon my language, doesn't mean they deserve to give everyone else around them hell.

I told him to punch the kid right in the face the next time he said anything to him, be it nice or not. He laughed and told me I was smart, and he'd consider it. I don't think he'd actually do it, though. He's enough of a troublemaker without listening to my advice, of all people.

Either way, it's funny how people like that. How creatures that don't even seem human, although you know they are, can actually be great people once you get to know them, huh? Inside that mysterious exterior, is a human being like you, or me, or anybody you see on the street. Deep down, they're just like everyone else.

"So, Yug'. You think you're gonna pass that chemistry test?" I asked suddenly, glancing at my friend out of the corner of my eye. Yugi Mutou, my best friend on the planet, with his crazy spiked hair and his amethyst eyes, looked up from his page of class work and shrugged.

"Probably." He replied, with a small smile. "After all, unlike you, Joey, I've been studying hard for it." I sighed and let my head rest on my arm, while I continued smiling up at Yugi. His smile grew a bit wider, but I could see the slight worry in his eyes. "Joey, have you been sleeping okay, lately? You look really tired, all the time." He pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I've just been up late these last few nights. Doing a lot of work on school work I've missed." I fibbed, shrugging. "It's been really tiring." I instinctively rubbed at the bags under my eyes, a bit self-conscious of them. Yugi didn't look convinced, but he nodded.

"Well, it's good to see you taking your studies serious for once, then." He replied pleasantly.

"Ol' Joey, taking his studies seriously?" I recognized the obnoxious voice only moments before Tristan leaned heavily on my head, making me growl and flail my arms to get him off. I lifted my head and glared at the brunette, and he grinned sheepishly. "Can't be. Joey's mark is as low as always!" He exclaimed, pointing to the page of class marks on the wall. I growled under my breath again.

"Yeah, yeah. Just 'cause I'm catching up, doesn't mean I've handed everything in yet. I'll get it all in at once, and then you'll feel stupid, wont you?" I snapped back, making Tristan stop and raise his eyebrows slightly.

"Hey, man. I was just kidding. Chill out." He said hesitantly, holding his hands up defensively. I paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Mm. Yeah, sorry." I replied softly. I wasn't really sure why Tristan's 'antics' pissed me off so much that day. It was probably because I hadn't slept straight in two weeks. I'd spent way too many headaches and all-nighters trying to get my hands on some very complicated, rare floor plans.

As the bell rang, most of the students eager to escape their classes, which included Tristan, of course, bolted into the hallways and headlong into their freedom. I dawdled a bit so I could walk with Yugi. He gathered up his books, slipping them into his bag, and I felt a little inferior in comparison, only carrying two of the four textbooks I should have had. The other two were probably somewhere in my deathtrap of a room, but to be honest, I'd given up looking for them.

"So, Joey. You want to hang out at the shop for a while?" The offer caught me off guard, and I blinked, looking at Yugi again.

"Eh, what?" I asked, tilting my head. "You… want to hang out?" Yugi sighed and shook his head like a disapproving mother, or girlfriend.

"We haven't hung out in weeks. It's like you're dropping off the face of the earth." He replied, pouting slightly. "It'd be cool if you could hang out for a few hours, at least. Grandpa just got a new shipment of cards…" His voice became singsong at the last sentence and I had to smile Yugi knew just how to pique my interest. However, I couldn't.

"Sorry, Yug'. I gotta dedicate tonight to more schoolwork." I fibbed with a small sigh. "But I can definitely hang tomorrow, if that's okay." I saw the disappointment in his eyes and immediately felt like an ass. However, Yugi nodded and simply smiled just as brightly as before.

"It's okay. We can always hang out tomorrow, or over the weekend." He said, as he threw his backpack over his shoulder and headed across the room to the door. "Not to mention, you're still walking me home. Right?" He teased, and I grinned.

"Damn straight. I'm not letting someone as cute and defenseless as you walk home on your own." I replied promptly as I grabbed my nearly empty school bag and jogged after him. Yugi flushed at the comment and rolled his eyes.

"I am not cute." he muttered under his breath, and I laughed.

I kicked up the gravel of torn-up sidewalk under my shoes with a vengeance as I made my way lazily down the street towards my home. Some home it was, of course. Chances were, my dad was drinking even more of the rent money away, or was waiting for me to get home so he could scream at me for something I probably didn't do in the first place. He made me sick, and sometimes, I just couldn't believe I was related to such an inconsiderate prick.

Either way, though, my mood wasn't horrible. My walk with Yugi had been good, and I'd even lingered at the shop for a little while to check out the new shipment he'd said his grandfather had just received. I felt good, with a brand new Red Eyes B. Chick in my deck. It sat comfortably alongside my Red Eyes B. Dragon. My absolute pride and joy.

The time for dueling was nowhere near, unfortunately. Instead, I slipped into the house as silently as I could manage and breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted my dad passed out on the couch, in front of an X-rated movie of some kind. Uninterested by the porn on the screen, and not daring to stand around and watch, just in case the old man awoke, I fled from the moans and slick noises coming from the shitty old TV and hid away up in my room.

Slowly, I closed the door and turned to survey my domain. Not much about it was very exciting. It was a messy teenager's room, to be sure. Computer on the desk, bed in the corner, laundry basket overflowing, and papers and random stuff strewn about carelessly. I ignored the things on the floor, even though some of them were probably growing mould by now, and sat at my desk instead. I could clean up later, once I'd printed off those plans.

The old, crap-bucket of a computer whirred to life and displayed the startup screen, followed by a system check. Then, promptly, I was deposited onto my desktop. I opened a few folders, then thought better of it and closed them again, instead deciding I'd better check to make sure nobody had been touching my hardware since I was last on it. As much as I wasn't really worried about my father looking up porn on my computer, other people could probably stumble across some concerning things. As I punched codes into a program, I breathed a sigh of relief, as the search for previous activity came up with that morning, when I'd been checking a few last things before school.

Well then, I decided, time to continue with what I was doing. I pulled up the floor plans I'd spent so long searching for and partially building and converted the file type. Picking a file type that was compatible with my printer, I brought up the 'print' command and listened to that old pile of machinery click into life as well. However, as reliably as ever, the paper began to roll out with the ink on them. I let the pages dry for a minute before taking a good long look at them. Satisfied, I rolled them up and tossed them on the bed.

The sun was low in the sky, casting a bloody stain across the pure, white clouds as I opened my closet and pulled out the black clothing that seemed to be eagerly waiting to be worn. I threw on the black muscle shirt and made sure it was comfortable before dropping the black trench coat over my shoulders. For a moment, I sneered as the style of the coat reminded me of Kaiba. It even flared out at the bottom like his. The black pants came next, followed by the belt with the knife and gun holster, the weapons contently nestled in their resting places. Then, I pulled the leather, fingerless gloves onto my hands. Finally, came the boots, which took a minute or two to buckle up on each side, and fasten comfortably. However, as I viewed myself in the mirror, my nose inches from the surface so I could apply the kohl to the bottom of my eyes, I couldn't help but smirk. I looked damn good.

"Alright. Papers, clothes, gun… good." I said softly as I verbally and physically checked to make sure I had everything. Grinning, I whirled around to take the base of the window and slide it up, before stepping onto the sill and scrambling up onto the roof of my house. The window slid neatly shut behind me, leaving no evidence I'd ever been through it.

Finally, as the sun choked out a last few shuddering rays of light, before giving up its realm to the moon, who was eagerly rising to take its place in the night sky, I stood on the roof and surveyed my other domain. The rats were scrambling about the streets, buying their drugs and selling their bodies, and I sneered. Turning around, I jumped down from the roof to take hold of a pipe and slide down it to the pavement. Then, my feet touched the ground and I spun, doing what I always did at night. I disappeared among the crowd like a specter.

The Hellhound, after all, had a job to do tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Hellhound

Description: A mysterious agent for hire called 'the Hellhound' roams the streets of Domino City, stealing and killing for cash. What happens when this dangerous thief is caught on the prowl by Seto Kaiba? What if the Hellhound is also someone a lot closer to him than he first thinks?

Rating: M

Pairing: Joey x Kaiba

Author's comments: Second chapter! Granted, this one was written before the first one even went online, but still. I'm proud I got it done promptly.

A simple 'fetch' mission, as it was labeled by the Hellhound. I'd chosen that word for it, well, because of my codename. Because no matter how hard I try to shake the dog names, and mannerisms, they still come. Each time, I curse Duke and Kaiba for forcing me into that dog suit and constantly calling me 'mutt.' Whether I like it or not, I think I've grown attached to the comparison. After all, of all the ultra cool, badass names I could have picked for my illegal, agent alter-ego, I chose Hellhound.

The streets were starting to pick up with the really nasty, grungy people, which meant it was definitely midnight, if not later. I had nothing to worry about, though. I didn't have to be at my target house until two or three. That was the best time to sneak in. So, that meant I had a few hours to kill. Wandering the streets, I glanced into the clubs and bars, bored. None of them seemed interesting, and I was always careful with places like those. Although this was the area of town where people didn't give a flying shit if you were legal or not, there were also a lot of creeps around.

Eventually, I passed all the clubs by, deeming them boring and typical. I guess it was probably a good thing, as I was tempted to check my watch and saw that it was almost two. Perfect. With a grin on my face, I spun on my heel and began to head down the street. As soon as I reached the edge of the bad neighborhood, I kept to the shadows of alleyways, trying to avoid all people whenever possible. After all, the Hellhound has to stay elusive, or he's not a mystery anymore.

As I neared my target, I pulled the few sheets of paper out of my deep coat pocket. They were the floor plans for the place I was hitting. Honestly, it was a huge place, and I was glad I had the plans. After all, I'd never actually been in it, before. It took me a total of ten minutes before I was standing down the street from the mansion that was my target. I sighed, knowing this one would be a tough one. However, when someone told the Hellhound to 'fetch', then 'fetch' he did. Slowly, and keeping to the shadows, I made my way around the block to the side of the mansion. From the distance I stood at, I could see the high fences, and the cameras. I grimaced. Typical that such a place would have such great security. However, nothing could keep me out for long.

Slowly, taking a deep breath, I approached the imposing mansion, avoiding the bright gaze of streetlights, headlights, and any other lights I saw. The darkness wrapped around me as snugly as my coat as I stalked along the street next to the house, looking closely at where all of the cameras sat. Eventually, I discovered one spot. One. tiny. spot. that would offer me a blind spot to get in. The only question was how? The opening between the bars in the gate were nowhere near big enough to allow me to pass. Not without major amounts of squeezing. My wardrobe, while practical for a thief and hit man, was nowhere near as good for a Houdini. With a little bit of thought and creativity, however… well, actually it was just logic, I discovered that if I removed my jacket, I could just barely slip through the bars. So, leaving my coat on the sidewalk, I sucked in a lungful of breath and slid between the bars. I almost got stuck at one point, but after a moment of wiggling, I tumbled through the gate and onto the grass. I then turned back to the metal bars, and immediately pulled my beloved trench coat in behind me.

Throwing my coat back over my shoulders, I checked to make sure nothing had fallen out of the pockets. When my fingers touched the floor plans, still buried in my pocket, I relaxed a little and headed up the hill toward the mansion. It loomed over me as I neared it and my eyebrows raised. It never looked this big from the street.

A shadow on the ground startled me and I looked up suddenly, staring face to face with the creator of the shadow. I almost shouted in surprise. There, right before my nose, sat an imposing Blue Eyes, White Dragon statue, crouched slightly as if ready to pounce on its prey. I stood in front of it a few moments, my heart pounding. However, then I slowly came back to reality and had to restrain the chuckle that wanted to come out. Of course the statue would be there. What, exactly, did I expect from who I was stealing from?

At this point, I'd like to stop my storytelling and point out that I was not, in any way, stealing from Kaiba for personal reasons. I'll say that truthfully, right now. I wasn't stealing from him because I disliked him, or anything. It was just my job. I'd been told my target was the collection of artifacts recently placed in the Kaiba mansion. That was it. No vendetta, no hate, no bad dog, no nothing. Just my job.

I was awfully interested in the artifacts, however. More of that Egyptian shit he and Yugi are so into, for some reason. I mean, I understand God Cards. Sure. What I don't get is why when every new artifact in Egypt is discovered, Seto Kaiba finds it necessary to show off his fortune by buying it for his collection. He'd only started the collection a few months back, but still. I found it odd. Why not collect something a little more exciting than ancient Egyptian artifacts. Stuff the Egyptians worshipped thousands of years ago? After all, they _did_ worship them _thousands_ of years ago.

Either way, my job was to take his collection. The whole damn thing, which, unfortunately, would be a challenging job. However, I could do it. The Hellhound had never failed before, so why would he even think it possible, now? Cautiously, I tiptoed toward the house. I knew about the rest of the security in the house. It was all listed down on my plans. The windows had alarms, but only on the first floor, so I immediately began looking for a tree I could use. Eventually, I located one with firm branches that would probably hold until I was through the window. So, I carefully took the branches in my hands and pulled myself up into the branches.

The tree was, indeed, solid, and extended toward a tall window. I shimmied along the branch, my breath catching as I almost lost my balance once. In the back of my head, I chuckled, noting that the Hellhound had made much more glamorous entrances to other buildings before, by air vent, roof, and so on. A window was nowhere near my usual standard. However, since this was just a typical 'fetch' mission, I didn't mind much. Slowly, I peeked in the window, and was satisfied as I was it was just a spare bedroom, without anyone sleeping inside. Thank goodness. Carefully as always, I undid the latch on the window and pushed it up. It was well maintained and barely made a noise. I slid inside, my body immediately becoming tense, and my pulse rushing as my boots touched the expensive carpet.

I always tensed up during missions, and it took me a minute to calm down and remind myself that I had never been caught, and didn't intend on it now. The great Hellhound, also known as Joey Wheeler, never let a mission slip between his fingers! I inched forward to the door. The hall was dark and silent, and I pulled my head back into the room, extracting my floor plans and checking them.

"Man, this place is huge…" I whispered to myself as I checked over the three sheets. Three pages, three floors, plus a basement, which I didn't have a map of. Supposedly, some secret computer stuff. Honestly, that sounded more exciting to check out than the Egyptian collection. However, my client wanted Egypt, so he was going to get Egypt. I looked quickly for Kaiba's collection.

I found it on the third floor, which was one floor up from where I was. I poked my head back out, satisfied that the house was silent enough to hazard a little bit of adventuring. I slipped into the hallway and padded down it as silently as possible, which was almost completely inaudible. I tensed as I heard a noise from behind one of the doors I passed. A shifting among blankets. From the Blue Eyes painted on the wall, as if emerging from the door, I guessed it was Kaiba's room, and within it, he was asleep. Taking a deep breath, I continued, glad I knew where he was now, in case things happened to get messy.

It took me a good five minutes to locate the staircase up to the third floor. The stairs looked a bit older than the rest of the mansion, and as I placed a foot on the first step, it threatened to creak, and so I removed my weight from it quickly. Thinking quick, I saw the banister had rungs in it, and so, grabbing the railing, I placed a foot on the slanted board. This didn't creak or groan when I placed my weight on it, and so I began to shimmy up the staircase, as if the banister were a sideways ladder. It wasn't as badass as I would have liked it to be, but it certainly worked. Eventually, I found myself on the third floor, and with a quick glance at my trusty floor plans again, I located the door to Kaiba's collection room.

As I entered, my jaw dropped at the sight.

The room was huge, although none of the artifacts themselves were large. They all had separate pedestals, and I grinned, estimating they'd all fit nicely into a bag. However, there were the glass cases to figure out, first. Each artifact was encased in a glass box with a dial on the base of it, which was also attached to the pedestal. The whole thing looked like a rather crude invention, but upon closer inspection, was actually a formidable lock.

The dial itself was set with a bunch of coded images. I guessed crudely that they were fashioned after the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the artifacts. It was built like the dial on a padlock, but I had a strange feeling that letting the dial click into the wrong symbol would trip the alarm. So, instead of testing the theory, I began to peer around the room to try and ascertain some sort of clue. If I tried to smash the glass, after all, I'd definitely be caught. However, if I lingered too long, I'd run out of time to get all the artifacts out safely and be away from the mansion before it was noticed they were gone. I eventually decided not to take the chance and I wandered the room a bit, half exploring, half looking for clues.

I quickly found one in the shape of a stone tablet. It looked a lot like the one that had been in the museum that time, when Ishizu and Marik and everything showed up, right around Duel City. However, this one couldn't possibly be the same, and I decided for myself that it was probably a replica. After all, it wasn't even as big as the legit one. However, the symbols at the bottom of the tablet interested me. I figured that they were just regular hieroglyphs, but upon a closer look, I saw a familiar dial shape. My eyebrows rose. This must have been where Kaiba got his idea for the locks from. Slowly, I took a good look at the hieroglyphs, and noticed a pattern among three of them. A bird, a sun, and a triangle shape. They had a certain number of dots next to them as well. Turning back to the lock on the artifact, surely enough, there were the three hieroglyphs and dots in between each of them. Three between each symbol.

The first one was the bird, and it had two dots after it, so I carefully turned the dial until it rested on the second dot past the bird. While I waited for the alarm to sound, instead I heard a lock inside the podium relax and click free. I grinned and set to the second symbol. One dot before the triangle shape. Again, the dial clicked into place and a lock clicked open. One more. The third symbol was a bit confusing. A dot, then the sun, then another dot. I frowned slightly, taking a close look at it. It could be either dot, on either side, and I was stumped for a few moments. However, then it clicked. If the sun was in the middle, then maybe… Cautiously, I slid the dial back to the sun, letting it rest pointing directly at the symbol. With a joyous click, the final lock slid open and the glass case opened. I grinned and extended my hand to take my prize.

"I always knew my sources were good, but never this good." The voice stopped me cold. I knew it all too well. "I'm glad I stayed awake, just in case the Hellhound _did_ decide to 'fetch' something from my home." Slowly, I turned my gaze to see out of the corner of my eye the one person I dreaded. There, leaning cockily in the doorway, with a handgun in his hand, stood Seto Kaiba. "Hellhound, your luck has run out. Give yourself up, or I'll be forced to take you out with force." The brunette said calmly as he leveled the gun. I stood still, keeping my back to Kaiba. Slowly, I raised my hands, my mind racing. Then, it arrived on a sickening thought.

If Kaiba saw me, he would recognize me.

He had always hated my guts, and to find out now that Joey Wheeler was the fabled Hellhound of Domino City would probably drive him to exact vengeance. He'd call the cops, have me arrested, and tossed in jail. Even worse, he'd probably tell everyone who I was, and maybe even go as far as to trying to get me life in prison, or even the death penalty. After all, it was common knowledge that the Hellhound did hits, too. Those missions were known as 'sick'em's. Now, I began to shake nervously and took a deep breath before ducking behind the pedestal directly on my left.

Kaiba's reflexes were insanely fast and I held in the yelp as a bullet ricocheted off the floor where I'd been standing a moment before. I yanked my own gun from my belt and peeked around the corner, aiming at the brunette, while simultaneously trying to avoid being shot. I managed it, but missed him and gritted my teeth. I could hear him chuckle coldly and begin to approach. I knew that gun was trained on my hiding place. I took a deep breath as his footsteps grew closer, tucked, and rolled, trying to get to a pedestal a little farther away. My gun tumbled from my grasp as I heard another shot ring out, but didn't feel it. I landed my clumsy roll behind the stone tablet, and immediately, pain shot up my right leg. I hissed and grabbed it, yanking back the pants leg. A bullet had cut into my leg. It hadn't stuck in the skin, but the blood flowed freely down my leg. I could hear the footsteps approaching, and groaned. I was trapped. I was doomed. I was royally, royally _fucked_.

"Now, Mr. Hellhound. I do believe we have some business we need to clear up." came Kaiba's malevolent voice as he rounded the stone tablet and knelt next to me. I winced and turned my head away, but he grabbed my throat and pointed his gun at my chin, forcing it up and in his direction. Immediately, his grip on my throat lessened and I saw the cold sapphire eyes widen.

"…Joey?"


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Hellhound

Description: A mysterious agent for hire called 'the Hellhound' roams the streets of Domino City, stealing and killing for cash. What happens when this dangerous thief is caught on the prowl by Seto Kaiba? What if the Hellhound is also someone a lot closer to him than he first thinks?

Rating: M

Pairing: Joey x Kaiba

Author's comments: Third chapter! Done promptly, and hopefully, well. As much as the beginning may seem, there's no lemon in this chapter. And before you pelt me with tomatoes, remember that there definitely will be one in a few chapters! Maybe more than one! Remember also that reviews encourage me to write faster! I love to know people are reading my fics and enjoying them. Hell, I'm even content to laugh at flamers! So don't be afraid of that lovely little button down there, mmkay?

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I couldn't believe it. I simply couldn't believe it. This wasn't happening. Kaiba had actually whacked me over the head with the butt of his gun to subdue me while he called the police and they hauled me away. I was dreaming.

But then, why did the tug of his hand as he yanked me down the stairs and into his bedroom feel so real?

Up at the stone tablet, when he'd recognized me, Kaiba had nearly dropped the gun. As soon as his grip lessened, however, I flailed, trying to get him off of me before the brunette realized it wasn't a trick of the light that simply made me look like his classmate. It didn't work.

His hand shot out in an instant and pinned me forcibly to the wall by my shoulder, and I was thankful it wasn't my throat, as his grip was tight.

"Wheeler, I believe you have a lot of explaining to do." As he said that, I froze. He was trying to use his cold, emotionless voice, but… what was that behind it? Confusion? Curiosity? Even… it sounded a lot like… sadness?

"Lemme go." I growled in a lower voice than usual, even though I knew I was horribly busted. Kaiba didn't listen and grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet, pulling me away from the artifacts I still needed to collect. I growled again, trying to tug my arm from his grip, but it simply tightened and I winced as he pinched the skin through my black, leather coat.

Wordlessly, I was led out of the collection room and down the stairs, Kaiba ignoring the creaky steps, unlike as I'd done before. They shifted and groaned under our collective weight, but stayed strong as the CEO dragged me down, not much caring how I tripped, stumbled, and bit my lip to keep from crying out as the gunshot wound in my leg throbbed and bled.

I honestly hadn't expected him to lead me there, of all places, but he chose the Blue Eyes decorated door and shoved me inside. I would never tell, but I could feel his hands shaking as he pushed me through. I tumbled to the floor with a hiss of pain, wincing as my leg burned. However, Kaiba paid no attention to my discomfort and simply helped me up to sit on the bed.

"Stay." He commanded coldly, and turned around and disappeared through another door. Now, there I was, sitting and waiting. My leg throbbing as it bled through my black pants, and tears growing in my eyes. The Hellhound was finished. Kaiba had obviously gone to call the police. What was I supposed to do now?

He'd get me arrested, and I'd end up in jail. Spending years in jail never sounds attractive, but I was only seventeen! I had my whole life ahead of me, and here it was, about to be snatched away and thrown into a small, 8' x 12' cell to be continuously violated by a big guy named Shirley for the next unknown number of years.

My nervous, and completely illogical, thoughts were interrupted rudely by the return of Kaiba. To my surprise, however, he wasn't holding a phone, or his gun, or anything. Instead, in his hands, was a first aid kit. He set it on the bed, and without a word or a glance at me, began pulling out supplies. He then grabbed my leg, forcing it up, much to my pained disdain.

"Ow! You bastard, quit it!" I exclaimed as he hiked up the pants leg to get a good look at the wound. It was bleeding freely, still, and had soaked a good bunch of my pants leg. The brunette ignored me completely and simply reached into the first aid kit to pull out a tube of antibacterial ointment. My eyes widened as I saw the brand and I tried to pull my leg out of his grasp. The stuff Kaiba was holding hurt like a _bitch_ on open wounds. He paid no attention. holding my limb still as he squirted a good amount onto a cotton swab and began to run it over the bleeding wound. I yelped. "God damn it!" I exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Then, suddenly, I was very aware of sapphire orbs glaring at me.

"Wheeler, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Kaiba asked me angrily, swabbing a bit harder. I hissed and whimpered, gripping the sheets as it stung like hell. Once I'd collected myself, I snapped back at him.

"I don't have to answer to you, you bastard." I turned my head away stubbornly, but was quite unpleasantly aware of the smirk I received. As if to get back at me, the brunette swabbed the cut in my leg a bit harder, pulling another strangled yelp from my throat.

"I'd like you to answer me, Wheeler. Why the hell are you doing this?" He said again, pressing and holding the stinging, torturous cotton swab to the wound as if to torture me with it. And torture he did. It stung and I whined, trying to twist my leg out of his grip.

"Fuck you! Stop it!" I exclaimed, finally snapping. I lunged out with my other leg and kicked Kaiba hard in the stomach. He let out a loud 'oof!' as he doubled over, which made him look like he was bowing to me, as he'd already been crouched on the ground. I smirked as I stood, letting my pants leg fall. However, before I even had time to step away from him, he was on his feet again and tensing, like he was ready to fight me. "What? Is this a fight, now?" I asked with a smirk, cracking my knuckles. He shook his head, however, and tensed even more. I think I realized a moment too late what he was going to do, and as he pounced, my reaction was completely the wrong one. When I, the fabled Hellhound, could have jumped right over him, dodged gracefully out of the way, blocked his pounce with shocking strength...

I just flinched.

We both tumbled back onto the bed, and he pushed me to the mattress. It was only in that instant I realized how suggestive this was and I flushed slightly. Suddenly glad there was little light in the room, I struggled to get him off me before he saw my embarrassment.

"Get off!" I exclaimed, bucking wildly. As I did, however, my leg got caught under his, and all of the damn CEO's weight went onto my wound. My eyes went wide and I opened my mouth to scream in pain, but he shifted his weight quickly off the injured part and clapped a hand over my mouth, muffling my cry.

"Sorry…" he said softly, sliding off me and grabbing the first aid kit again. I stayed stubbornly where I was, but then something struck me. Had Kaiba just apologized? To me, of all people? The brunette was unwinding a roll of gauze and bandages, now and I stared incredulously as he took my leg and wrapped the gauze around it tightly enough to stem the continuous blood flow, but not tight enough to cut off the circulation. Once he'd wrapped the wound, he looked back at me.

"Um… thanks." I said softly, suddenly very aware of the awkward situation around us. He nodded and looked at the bed, then back at me.

"I almost killed you, you know. I never would have thought that Joey Wheeler could ever be the great, fabled Hellhound." he said quietly, though looking at me with calculating, curious eyes. I shrugged.

"Well, you were wrong, then, weren't you? I'm a lot more capable than you think, _Kaiba_…" I growled back, glaring slightly. "I can do whatever the hell I want, and I don't need you thinking I'm pathetic, or incapable, you got it?" He seemed a bit taken aback, then chuckled.

"I didn't say anything like that." He said calmly, shaking his head, and I blinked. I vaguely noticed the edges of him were slightly fuzzy and shook my head, trying to straighten out my vision. Why didn't I feel so good all of a sudden?

"… No, I suppose you didn't. But you were thinking it…" I replied, frowning slightly and shaking my head again. "You always think it." Kaiba simply chuckled.

"Perhaps sometimes." he replied calmly, glancing at me with slight amusement in his usually cold eyes. He was wrapping the bandage around the layer of gauze he'd gotten on my leg, now, the clasps waiting patiently on the duvet to be used. It took a minute or so, but Kaiba fastened the bandage well enough, and I bent my leg, testing it a bit. To the contrary of what I'd expected, it throbbed painfully and I winced, straightening it immediately. Kaiba simply shook his head.

"What?" I asked coldly, crossing my arms. The brunette simply chuckled.

"I just thought of something." He said, pausing to see my curiosity perk up, much to my annoyance, and I tilted my head. He closed his eyes and stood before continuing his comment. "Well, you must like me more than I thought. After all, you picked the name 'Hellhound', didn't you? I always knew, once a mutt, always a mutt."

My eye twitched and I went to stand suddenly, ready to beat he crap out of Kaiba. How dare he! How _dare_ he make a mockery out of me! Despite my sudden dizzyness and nausea, I propelled myself to my feet.

"You asshole! I'll fucking kill you!" I snarled as I lunged at him. However, my leg immediately buckled under me and the world's colors grew grey, spinning about me in a confusing monochrome cyclone. I stumbled and was vaguely aware of being suspended in the air by something. Kaiba's arms? Then, I began to black out.

The last thing I heard was that asshole's startled voice calling my name and desperately trying to shake me awake as I sank out of his grip and to the floor.

"Joey! J-Joey!" Then, everything was gone.


End file.
